Federal agencies are using arcane regulations and legal opinions to shield automakers and others from challenges by consumers and states.By Myron Levin and Alan C. Miller, Times Staff WritersWASHINGTON — Near sunrise on a summer morning in 2001, Patrick Parker of Childress, Texas, swerved to avoid a deer and rolled his pickup truck.The roof of the Ford F-250 crumpled, and Parker didn't stand a chance. His neck broke and, at 37, he was paralyzed from the chest down. He sued, and Ford Motor Co. settled for an undisclosed amount. "You can imagine what happens when you're belted in and the roof comes down even with the door," Parker said. "Your options are death or quadriplegia."... http://www.latimes.com

European Union agriculture ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss ways to fight the spread of bird flu. France is the latest European nation to report the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus in the past week, joining Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Greece. Poultry farmers in Germany, France and the Netherlands have been ordered to keep flocks indoors as a precaution. Elsewhere, a mass cull of birds is under way in the western Indian state of Maharashtra after H5N1 was found. The lethal H5N1 strain has killed at least 90 people since 2003. It can be caught by humans who handle infected birds, but it is not yet known to have passed from one person to another. Scientists have warned that if the virus mutates it could create a pandemic that could kill millions of people. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4731838.stm

Rescue teams in Mexico are working to free a least 65 workers trapped underground after a blast in a coal mine in the northern state of Coahuila. The authorities have not yet been able to make contact with the miners, and hopes of finding them alive are fading. Their oxygen supplies are believed to be running low or have run out. The explosion occurred at 0230 local time (0830 GMT) on Sunday. It is thought to have been caused by gases igniting inside the mine. Rescue workers have said they do not know how long it will take to reach the trapped miners. They are thought to be trapped in tunnels at least 2km (1.25 miles) below ground. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4730846.stm

Despite its continuous calls for installing democratic governments in the Middle East, the Bush administration refused to accept the outcome of the first democratic elections held in the region; Palestine’s elections that were held in Dec. 15. The Bush administration refuses to budge from its insistence that it will not deal with a Hamas-led government--or provide funding to the new Palestinian Authority, now led by the Palestinian Islamic movement, as long as it refuses to recognise the Jewish States. And yesterday, the Israeli government approved plans to impose sanctions on Hamas; freezing the transfer of about $50 million a month in tax and customs receipts due to the Palestinian Authority and restricting the ability of Palestinians to work in Israel as well as the movement of Palestinian goods to Israel....http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10626

Heavy fighting has again flared in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, after 10 people were killed on Saturday. A BBC correspondent in the city says at least five people have died after rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns were fired. The fighting pits a new group, the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, against the Islamic Courts' militia. Peace talks are due next week, aimed at restoring authority after 15 years. Most of those killed and wounded over the weekend were civilians hit by stray bullets, says the BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu. Hundreds of families have fled their homes around the former military academy following the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu for several years. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4731456.stm

A board member of a Toledo-based Muslim charity said yesterday that a Senate panel's two-year investigation into possible terrorist links, which ended recently with no allegations of wrongdoing, was "reminiscent of the McCarthy era."Jihad Smaili, a Toledo native and Cleveland lawyer, said at a news conference yesterday in KindHearts' West Toledo offices that the U.S. Senate Finance Committee made a public announcement in 2003 that it was investigating 25 U.S. Muslim groups, but never announced that it ended the inquiry two weeks ago with no evidence of wrongdoing.In the meantime, some potential KindHearts donors were scared off by the investigation and the charity's reputation was hurt by "false allegations" and "guilt by association," Mr. Smaili said....http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWS10/512090347